


Fall of Rain

by Princessfbi



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Buried Alive, Claustrophobia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rogue Downworlders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-26 20:32:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6254869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princessfbi/pseuds/Princessfbi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Please!” Alec tried to throw his shoulder against the top but there wasn’t enough room and his body hated him even more as he flailed. </p><p>Claustrophobic and alone he was left with nothing but the cold hard facts that his rational and emotional instincts were at war. He didn’t want to die but there was nothing he could do to stop it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title change! Too many people thought someone was gonna die.... oops.

The ache seeped through Alec’s hands and radiated to pulse down his arms but he couldn’t stop banging against the lid of the box. It was all he could do, though his banging had turned to pathetic attempts against the sturdy wood and hurt him more than it did the structure. The tight leather bindings knotted and wrapped around his wrists didn’t help with the numbness but even in the dark he could tell that the skin along his hands was beginning to bruise and turn red. The burn of his shoulders forced him to give his banging a rest and his hands fell onto his chest with light thud.

 

_Alec twirled his arrow as he spun around only to be caught around his side by a locked arm. With the wind knocked out of him, he crumpled around the figure giving them enough leverage to spin him off his feet. But instead of landing a painful and meaningful bite, the vampire tossed Alec into the awaiting arms of another that wrapped around his chest, pinning his arms to his side._

_“What the---“ a cold hand pressed against his mouth and the arm holding him tightened as he was wretched away from the scene._

_Alec saw Jace and his sister fighting with a fluidity and grace they had been taught since birth, attacking and defending every which way necessary. Neither of them seemed to notice that he was being weaned our and isolated until it was too late._

_Alec kicked out, nailing his heel into a vampire’s chest and using his momentum to pull the one holding him with him as they toppled to the ground. His arrow laid forgotton on the ground and Alec launched himself towards it. His ankle ripped out from underneath him and he cried out as his cheek met the ground with a hard smack. The gravel ripped at his skin as his body was pulled across and he scrambled for the arrow. Another arm wrapped around his waist and tried to hoist him into the air but Alec slipped out and used his legs to push himself further away from his attacker._

_“Alec!” He heard Isabelle shout as another set of hands grabbed his arms. With them, his legs were pinned as well and he was lifted off the ground and continued to be pulled away from the fight. With a sharp twist, he fell into a heap on the ground as a loud shriek sizzled from above him while the ashes of one of the vampire’s rained on top of him._

When the air started to thin and a sheen of sweat was layered over his body, all Alec wanted to do was roll onto his side. Lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling was killing him, especially when the ceiling was three inches away from his face. His back was sore and his neck was cramped and all he wanted to do was roll on his side. But he couldn’t. There wasn’t enough room and his shoulders were too broad and the whole box was confining and small! Damnit, he was too tall for the stupid box they’d thrown him in! His legs ached and pain radiated from his knees to the arches of his feet. It was suffocating. He was suffocating.

When he’d been fourteen and more impressionable, Jace had talked him into going demon hunting on their own one night. They had fought like they’d been trained, well and with confidence, but their solo mission had ended when one rogue seelie had pinned Alec in a haze of bloodlust and wrapped her hands around his throat. He hadn’t been able to breathe. She’d almost killed him.

This, lying in a box with limited oxygen, had been a lot like that only slower and more drawn out. Torture.

 

_“What the hell was that?”_

_Alec’s teeth worried into the skin of his lip as he slowly spun to face his angry friend. “I don’t know.”_

_He’d been hoping that his siblings would’ve let him sulk off to lick his wounds alone. But a red flush was pooling into Jace’s cheeks as his eyes sent a piercing glare that made Alec wince._

_“What do you mean, you don’t know?”_

_“Jace---“ Izzy tried but Jace threw his arm out to silence her._

_“I don’t know!” He didn’t. He knew what it’d looked like when the two vampires had dragged him around like a lifeless doll. They had been raised to fight since they could walk and Alec prided himself on his fighting ability and style. Jace was fluid and cutting in the way he handled his blades and twisted his body. But Alec was sharp and to the point. What they had just come from? It’d been messy, sloppy, and utterly confusing. Why hadn’t the vampire just killed him when they could or worse bitten him?_

_“You were distracted!”_

_Alec jerked at the accusation. “Wha--- No, I wasn’t!”_

_“Yes, you were! In case you forgot, Alec, I am your parabati. I know how you fight. You were distracted and you almost got yourself killed!”_

_Izzy stormed away from Clary and Simon to stalk up to them with her fists at her side and that outraged expression on her face. “Jace!”_

_“Yeah, well the whole parabati is really convenient when you use it,” Alec said as his angry coiled tight into his chest._

_“What’s that suppose to mean?”_

_“Forget it.” He turned to leave because despite Jace’s apparent never ending perfection, Alec still wanted to go ice his wounded pride alone and fighting wasn’t help the drill that was pressing behind his eyes as a headache brewed in his skull. But Jace’s hand wound around his arm and held him there._

_“You could’ve gotten yourself killed! You could’ve gotten Clary killed! You were suppose to be watching out for her!”_

He didn’t understand why he of all people seemed like the chink in anyone’s armor. How he was targeted as the weak leak? But, then again, he was obviously not doing a great job was proving himself with being so easily subdued by one feeble box and some dirt.

Well, it did make sense in a way. Magnus had drawn a line in the sand, risking everything, and all for Clary. He’d put his neck on the line, gambling not only his life but the life of his people for that stupid girl. But Magnus was calculated and precise beneath his layers of glitter and flirtations. He didn't gamble unless he was certain he would win. And Magnus hadn’t hidden his growing attachment to Alec like he should’ve. He should’ve stayed tucked away his interests instead of trying to drag Alec from his hiding spot in the world. Magnus had grabbed a hold of Alec’s hand and dragged him from the shadows of the Institute and all it stood for and forced him to live in a world covered in glitter and cat like sunlight. Alec in all his uncomfortable enjoyment had been seen as a way to hurt Magnus and now he was paying for it. He was being nothing but a pawn to wound Magnus in a way he couldn’t fix.

Shame settled deep in Alec’s chest and he brushed his tied hands around his final resting place for a weak spot within the wood to keep them busy. He always knew he was going to hurt Magnus someway… He just didn’t think it would be like this.

 

_Kicking the trashcan had been impulsive and irrational but Alec didn’t care. To the mundanes that would’ve walked by it would’ve seemed like the trashcan had been thrown over violently on it’s own. They would’ve startled and then carried on their way and wouldn’t bother Alec as he allowed himself to seethe just one moment longer. Pushing a fist up to his head, Alec clenched his jaw and leaned against the brick wall, wincing as the stone pressed into his skin. He forced himself to breathe, taking deep long inhales of air, through his mouth, in hopes of extinguishing the burn that had started to sear in the back of his throat and eyes._

_Alec would go to the ends of the earth for Jace but he was an idiot. An absolute idiot that didn’t realize when he had thrown words that hurt more than he would've ever thought. God, sometimes Alec missed when Jace could read him and Alec didn’t have to spell everything out for him. He missed having someone know him the way Jace had. Now, it was like Jace hadn’t known him at all and Alec had been left to feel like a drag doll. But Jace, of course he knew. He knew every button to push and Alec loved Jace but he could be a real dick sometimes._

_Once he felt the tremors leave his hands and his control clasp back into a tight grip, Alec pushed himself away from the brick and started to make his way back to the light of the Institute. It’d been childish to storm out like he had. Then again so would’ve crying in front of everyone._

_Angel, he couldn’t even begin to list the things he could only imagine Clary would’ve done if she’d seen him cry!_

_He rounded the corner and---_

_\---Jerked back, making his feet give out from under him. The cloth pressed against his face smelled like a potion he’d never encountered and before he could stop himself, he inhaled. It was like his body had shut off and his head swam with dark shadows from the fumes._

_He crawled at the brick, dragging his nails until he bled and tried to kick out._

_He should sleep…_

_No, he jerked again but this time whoever was holding him snatched his arm and held it._

_To die, to sleep… he couldn’t… but.. but he… no…_

_And Alec couldn’t_ remember anymore. He must’ve passed out at that point. Instead, he woke up to the feeling of dust in his lungs and the sickly sweet taste in his mouth. Tied with a thin leather rope that cut into his skin and wore his wrists until they were raw, it didn’t take Alec long to assess his situation. He was buried alive, in a box made of wood that looked like it would give out any second, and he was utterly alone. The small witchlight barely emitted enough light for Alec to see his hands in front of him but the soft glow was a small comfort from being entirely by himself.

 

_The soft glow of the sun rise peered through deep red and purple velvet curtains as Alec pressed into the warm chest he was lying on. Soft, dancer like fingers caressed and twirled along his temple and into his dark hair to pet his scalp. It felt so damn good!_

_Magnus chuckled quietly as Alec let out a sigh._

_“Morning.”_

_“Don’t stop,” Alec said as he tightened his arm around Magnus’s waist. He practically purred as Magnus’s fingers pressed deeper into his skin and his petting turned more purposeful._

_Before Magnus, Alec never enjoyed the feeling of lying down for long periods of time. He felt like his body was wasting away with potential precious time to work on his bow. When he woke up and he was younger he would practically bounce from his bed to go watch the older kids train until he could train with them. With Magnus… They hadn’t done anything. Nothing really scandalous anyway and Alec sometimes got the feeling that Magnus was under the impression that he was made of glass. He joked but never pushed and they never moved further unless Alec initiated it. But sleep had been another step they’d stumbled upon when Alec had been sent to Magnus to research something for some demon Clary and her mundane had somehow managed to encounter. He’d fallen asleep, weeks of constant insubordination and rule breaking having worn his body down, and Magnus had deemed himself Alec’s pillow. It’d been some of the best sleep he’d ever had. Sleep had been a necessity but now, with Magnus, it was something he enjoyed a little more. Mornings or the occasional nap were beginning to become his favorite part of the day._

 

Dirt slithered in through a crack in his prison after one powerful kick splintered some of the structure. But, instead of the desperate relief, panic flooded Alec’s veins as he pressed against the hole to try and stop the dirt that pooled over top of him.

“Let me out!”

Alec screamed until his throat was ripped raw and his cries turned to pitiful croaks.

“Please,” he gasped, his voice broken and coarse. “Please!”

There wasn’t any air. There wasn’t any air! He’d lost his strength long ago and his fist against the old wood was a feeble scratch in comparison.

Would Clary take care of Jace for him? The loss of a parabati could kill the other half in extreme cases and while Alec usually wasn’t one for indulgences, he was wiling to count this particular moment as one of those cases.

He knew he was crying and a part of him hated that but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He was going to die down there and no was going to find him. “Magnus!”

Alec was anything from a damsel in distress. He didn’t even know why he was calling out for the warlock but some part of him that still grasped onto some delusional sense of hope tried to will Magnus to hear him somehow. He banged his bruised hands against the wood and winced as the dirt spilled into his prison.

“Please!” He tried to throw his shoulder against the top but there wasn’t enough room and his body hated him even more as he flailed.

Claustrophobic and alone he was left with nothing but the cold hard facts that his rational and emotional instincts were at war. He didn’t want to die but there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“Please… Magnus.” His breath hitched and sent fire up his throat.

Would Magnus miss him? A sob broke through him at the thought. He’d never get to kiss Magnus, not in the way he’d wanted to at least. Not in a way that conveyed everything Alec couldn’t vocalize because of the feelings he couldn’t name swirled around in his chest.

A pitiful noise that, in any circumstance he would never lay claim to, escaped from his lips as he realized there was no use. He was going to die. He wanted out and he couldn’t get... He was trapped and there was nothing he could do about it.

He cried until he ran out of tears, his face feeling hot and sticky from his early sobbing, and his crying turned into wheezing that would’ve been hyperventilating if he had the strength for it.

 

_“You can blame your warlock for this.” Alec couldn’t see past the haze over his eyes at the voice from above him. High above him. Like an angel but darker. He wanted to lift his head but it was too heavy and something thick and loud snapped in front of him before he passed out again._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title change. Thanks Les Mes!

Jace was almost certain that his heart was going to fly out of his chest as his fingernails clawed at the mud and dirt.

“Here!” Simon skidded to a halt, panting as he threw the blade of a shovel into the ground beside him. Kicking his foot down, Simon hefted a mound of dirt and threw it aside before going back for another. Clary dropped down beside him and grabbed at the dirt with Jace, her beautiful red hair catching clumps of mud as they went.

They dug until the ground went to their elbows and Jace snatched the shovel away from Simon with a shove.

Stupid. He’d been so stupid! If he’d known from the beginning that Alec had been the target of the random vampire attack he never would’ve let the archer go off on his own. Alec didn’t have as short of a fuse as Jace but however repressed they were, he still had feelings. He needed cooling off sometimes and Jace had let him go. Stupid! 

Fighting with Alec was still new. Sure, they bickered back and forth but he never used to fight with his parabati as much as he had been those last couple of days. He didn’t know how to apologize to Alec, not for things that used to be normal between them.

But seeing that overturn trashcan and after talking to Magnus… It was like his ribs had constricted around his lungs. Breathing had become a difficult task even though air was flowing in and out between his lips.

With a cry of exertion, he threw the shovel into the ground and kicked up dirt as he went.

Izzy had been ready to kill him. This was his fault. His fault that Alec had been missing for over a day and however long it took them to realize he’d gone missing.

“Damnit!” Jace cried out when he knew he could dig as long as he liked but Alec wouldn’t be any closer. He threw the shovel and heard more than he saw Simon dodge it.

 

_Raphael’s hand curled around Simon’s shoulder as he felt his muscles twist and clench beneath his cold skin._

_“It’s been too long since the shadowhunters have forced us to live under the Accords without repercussions. Now one of their own is back from the dead with the sole purpose of killing all of us. Do you really think the shadowhunters are going to do anything to protect us?”_

_“Don’t.” Raphael hissed under his breath and his hold on Simon tightened. Raphael had been summoned to a meeting in a dive bar that the vampires would usually rather be staked than be seen in but it was the first time Simon had seen downworlders alike all in one place where they weren’t killing each other. But the more the Accords were being mentioned, the closer Raphael and Simon had inched towards the door. Camille would’ve lapped at the adrenanile coursing through the veins of all the downworlders but Raphael was smart. He was on good standing with the shadowhunters and the Accords. He’d be a fool to mess with that. At the end of the day, Raphael cared about taking care of his own more than he cared about the fall of some dying group._

_“Even the high warlock himself hasn’t done anything to stop this!” The crowd was getting more and more agitated and Raphael’s grip on Simon’s shoulder would’ve bruised if he’d been human._

_“We’ve decided to give him a little incentive to help him see his priorities and where his loyalties lie. There is a shadowhunter buried somewhere in the city. Who ever finds him, gets him.”_

 

Of course, no one thought the random attacks were attempts on Alec’s life. Of course, no one thought that under all of the ferocity and distraction, Alec would be the one the rogue downworlders were after. Of course, no one thought of Alec.

Magnus couldn’t find it in himself to care about the fact that he was being unfair because why did it take them two hours to notice that Alec was missing? He could’ve been…. Magnus forced his mind to stop. He had been around for a long time and seen humanity turn cruel towards one another but he wasn’t going to let that stop him in his tracks. Freeze him mid step with a gut-wrenching thievery of his body’s air.

It wouldn’t do to dwell on the improbable. Alec was alive. He knew it. That was that.

 

_Magnus felt the enchanted witchlight stress under the tight grasp of his hands as Alec’s screams pierced through the air. The darkness in him that troubled his nightmares and licked at his skin whenever he lost his temper, stirred as he watched Alec panic thanks to the enchantment someone had placed on the glass. He could see his calm, cool Alec falling to pieces with hopeless panic. All because a couple of rogue downworlders couldn’t possibly understand the precarious position he was in as this war with Valentine loomed on._

_It hadn’t been the first time he’d been branded a traitor, though. And in time it would pass._

_They made a mistake, however, when they targeted Alexander._

_“Magnus!” Something cold ran down Mangus’s spine as he startled._

_“Alec?” He called but Alec couldn’t hear him. Alec bashed into the top of his prison in a way that was sure to bruise his hands._

_“Magnus, please!”_

_Alec. Alec was calling out to him and there wasn’t anything he could do._

_“Hold on, Alexander,” Magnus said, surprised by how hoarse his voice was. “Hold on.”_

_Alec let out a long gut-piercing wail of a sob as he pushed against the walls around him and the glass in Magnus’s apartment shattered._

 

Alec wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he’d been in his prison but once he’d been able to shut off any outlets of energy, it didn’t really matter. None of it mattered. The air was getting thinner and he was in a daze in the darkness. It shouldn’t be too much longer.

The dirt had shifted every once in a while and slowly pooled in around his hips like a coated blanket. He’d tried to cling onto the bone rattling cold that seeped into his skin but even that wasn’t enough to keep him present. It was hard to be in the moment when the moment was the efficiently overdone death of one Alexander Gideon Lightwood. To be honest, Alec was kind of over it.

The ground above had started to shift again and the dirt was spilling in at a consistent stream. Shouldn't be too much longer...

 

_Izzy’s whip curled around the werewolf’s throat, her heel pressing into the flesh. Wild green eyes turned to Luke, expecting the alpha to step in, but Luke stood by Izzy as she pressed harder._

_“Where is my brother?” She punctuated each word with a dangerous level of venom._

_“Are you going to do---“ The werewolf choked as Izzy pulled her whip tighter and Luke simply raised a brow, staring down at his rogue beta._

_“I don’t risk my neck for traitors, Lee.”_

_Lee’s growl cut off into a whimper as Izzy’s heel jabbed him in the throat._

_“Don’t make me ask again.”_

 

The weak scream stopped the three of them in their tracks as the chill in the air raced through their veins. Before Clary could stop him, Jace was taking a sharp left with his seraph blade glowing with an angry pulse in his hand and bolted toward the yell. Simon jumped after him and Clary couldn’t even bother to take a moment to marvel at the growth her best friend had had over the past few months. Before he would’ve been chasing after her, shouting about how her following Jace into a fight was a bad idea and what not. But now her lungs burned as she raced to keep up with them.

Jace had been agitated ever since Alec had stormed out after their fight but when Simon had all but ran to the doors of the Institute, throwing off the all the alarms and sensors, with news of the hunt for a shadowhunter that’d been buried alive, Jace had been lost in a frenzy of his own mind. He’d tried to reach out through his parabati bond but his own emotions were clouding the faint hints of panic and confusion he was getting.

A screech that was nothing close to being human pierced through the air and Jace shot off like a bullet towards it.

Clary followed Jace and Simon into a clearing and staggered to a halt as her heart pounded against her chest at what she saw.

A Screecher demon was prowling around in a tight circle like a hawk finding its prey. Screecher demons were lowly creatures, more like scavengers, and while they looked ugly they were hardly the biggest bads they had faced before. This one looked younger than any other ones that Clary had seen. But, the one Clary had seen before wasn’t circling around Alec Lightwood.

Alec had half crawled out of a crudely dug hole in the ground, with his chest breaching his escape into the cold night air. But, his legs were still trapped underground and he was stuck facing both salvation and destruction. His muddy arms were cover his head and he cried out as the Screecher took another swipe at him, dragging its long talons down his arms and mixing the dirt with Alec’s blood.

It was like a trigger that’d been pulled. Jace battle cried as he swung his seraph blade and cut off the Screecher’s hand.

A Screecher, though usually easily to take care of, had it’s name for a reason and the piercing shriek forced Clary to drop to her knees. Oh God, her ears were ringing and it was echoing throughout her skull. Jace fell to his knee and Simon hunched over stunned. Gritting his teeth, Jace forced himself to his feet and swung his blade until the sound stopped with a blood guttural gag.

“Oh…. That’s gross,” Simon shouted, a little louder than normal as he clutched his head, and the Screecher’s head rolled to the side. Clary’s skull throbbed as her hearing slowly came back and Jace wiped off the green blood that had splattered on his face.

Then, all three heard the short, pained exhale, and swiveled on their heels. Alec seemed to be torn between weakly crawling out of his hole and trying to cover his head. But when Jace ran over to him, he gave up his hold and covered his head with his bound arms, making his body slide further back into his former prison.

Jace would’ve rather taken a blade to the gut than feel when Alec flinched against his touch.

“Alec,” he said quietly. “Alec, it’s me.”

Alec’s arms were covered with mud and blood and he was sure there were probably bruises under all the dirt. His hand were still tightly bound with a thin leather binding but his hands were torn to shreds. Mud and dirt caked his nails and fingers. One even looked like it could’ve been broken.

Something cold settled deep in his stomach.

Alec had crawled his way out. He’d been forced to claw his way out from under six feet of dirt because Jace had been too slow.

“Alec…” He said, surprising himself with just how coarse his voice had turned as it caught in his throat. His fingers brushed against Alec’s cold skin and this time his parabati didn’t jump away from him. He curled his hands around Alec’s wrists and pulled them away from his head, slowly and carefully. Alec’s face was streaked with dirt and tears and his cheeks were flushed against his pale white face.

Alec’s eyelashes moved up and down with slow heavy blinks as he stared up at Jace.

“Please,” he croaked. “Please, get me out.”

Jace nodded and handed his blade to Clary without a glance. Simon dropped down behind Alec, his hands hovering over Alec as if he was afraid to touch him.

“Put your hands around my neck.” Jace was mindful of the red torn skin of Alec’s wrist and guided his bound hands over his head until his cold fingers brushed the nape of his neck.

Angel, Alec was freezing!

Planting his foot underneath him into the dirt and wrapping an arm around Alec’s waist, Jace pulled.

And Alec promptly screamed. A long _breathtakingly heart stopping pain_ of a scream that made Jace freeze on the spot.

His parabati dropped his head into the crook of Jace’s neck and struggled to breathe as waves of pain coursed through him.

“What?” Jace asked looking over at Simon and Clary. “What is it?”

Simon dropped onto his front and dug a little deeper around Alec’s hole before sticking his hand past Alec’s body into the ground. He must have brushed something because Alec let out another short pained scream against Jace’s collarbone.

“Simon!” Jace snapped but the vampire ignored him and dug around as well.

“There’s a jagged piece of wood catching on his leg… I’ve almost---“ There was a loud snap of wood break and another yelp from Alec before Simon was helping Jace pull the rest of Alec’s body from his prison and onto the solid ground. They eased him onto his back and Clary quickly pulled a water bottle and a small witchlight from her bag. Simon rushed to pull off his button down as Clary poured water over the openly bleeding wound on Alec’s leg. Snatching the shirt from Simon, she went to work on pressing the material down on the wound making Alec ground out a curse from between his teeth before shooting her an annoyed glare.

Jace cupped Alec’s face with his shaking hand and pulled the shadowhunter’s attention back to him as Simon and Clary worked on stopping the bleeding.

“Couldn’t wait for a proper rescue, could you?” Jace joked and felt a slight lift of relief at the small smile Alec sent up towards him. Jace’s fingers worked on the leather bindings until Alec’s hands were free.

“How about… Alec?” Alec’s eyes rolled into the back of his head before Jace could finish. “Alec!”

 

_Alec dwarfed anyone on a good day but as Jace carried him through Magnus’s apartment, he couldn’t have looked smaller than a house cat. Isabelle stormed past Magnus with Simon trailing behind her in what he could only assume was to "secure the perimeter". Clary followed Jace as he moved to the large couch in Magnus’s living room. An eyebrow arched high on her forehead as she took in the shattered pieces of glass from all the windows and mirrors littering his floor._

_“What happened here?”_

_Magnus ignored her and snapped his fingers before a blue hue of magic illuminated in his palms._

_“He’s succumbing to shock,” Magnus said after a few painstakingly long moments and forced a soothing plume to etch into his magic. It should've felt like a balm for Alec and something to lull his body into a less hazardous daze. “Get the blankets from my room.”_

_The room electrified with Magnus’s magic and his eyes slicked into the yellow cat like gaze as he pushed more of his power into Alec, forcing his power to spark Alec’s nerves alive._

_Alec threw his head back as his body arched and gasped before he slumped back into the cushions. Magnus faltered at the force of his magic and leaned down closer to Alec. Blinking lazily, Alec turned his face until his cheek found Magnus’s opened palm._

_“There’s those blue eyes.”_

_“Is he going to be ok?"_

_"Alec?"_

_"Holy crap he's alive!"_

 

Alec tilted his head back as the warm raindrops caressed his face with a gentle touch. It was still a feeling he couldn’t get over. The water, cold to the touch, but warm from the sky trickled down his cheeks... collected on his shirt... pooled in his hair… And the smell. The smell was so crispy and fresh. Not the like when the ground had started to warm and the air smelled like wet dog as the worms escaped their mud tunnels.

Alec shuddered at the thought and curled his arms tighter around his legs.

“Alexander?” Magnus’s voice sounded like thunder. Not like the scary, roof shaking kind. More like the distant promise of spring rumbling from across the Hudson. The hollow heels of Magnus’s boots echoed across the concrete of the roof as he stepped out into the rain. A warm hand curled around Alec’s shoulder and he shivered again as he realized how cold his body had gotten against the heat of Magnus’s hand.

He glanced up at the warlock through thick wet lashes and let a small sheepish smile curl at his lips. Magnus almost looked like a dream as his glitter mixed with the steady rain falling on them. Almost. His concerned expression kind of put a damper on the appeal.

“Why do you keep coming out here during this weather? You’re going to catch the death of you!”

Alec rolled his eyes with a snort. “A cold is hardly going to kill me.”

“You say that now. You remember that I lived through the Spanish flu. Never doubt the mortal body.” Regardless, Magnus dropped down beside Alec and curled his arms around the shadowhunter, offering temporary warmth until Alec was satisfied and had calmed the anxious hollowness in his chest at the thought of feeling trapped.

They could stay until the worms came out because then Magnus could wash away the smell of the smothering earth with the scent of cinnamon and candles and home. 


End file.
